Almost Perfect
by Snodin
Summary: Children have been disappearing in the quiet little mountain town, and now Stan and company are going to know why...


Finally. After all these years, I will mourn no longer.  
  
It was cold and dark as night in that laboratory.  
  
A flash of electricity illuminated everything. There was no solid ground; everything from the floor up was solid steel. On the nearby tables were small jars, each holding inside a body part of a small child. In the distance were humanoid robots, placing together a metal skeleton. And there in the midst of all this was the giant machine. It was on a pedestal that connected to a control desk, complete with monitors and buttons. The top of the machine had lightning rods, which were the cause of the lightning flashes. And in the center was the circular tank that held a dark purple liquid inside.  
  
Standing by the machine was a tall skinny aging man in a white doctor's robe. His attention drew towards the robot approaching him, which was pushing a stretcher. On the stretcher was the figure of something small, but it was covered by a blanket. It must have been human, for dangling off the side of the stretcher was a tiny green mitten.  
The man uncovered the blanket, and he realized who it was.  
His next subject.  
  
"...Yes...." the madman grinned insanely. "...Yes!.....He's ready!"  
  
He smiled to the machine with the tank filled with purple liquid. And for the first time, you realize what's inside the tank.  
  
The silhouette of a child, cuffed by huge wires that stretched from the top and bottom of the tank to his forehead, wrists and ankles.  
  
Everything was in place. The operation could now begin.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
He's dead.  
  
Those were the only two words that could cross his mind as he sat there on his couch, staring at the television. His eyes were fixed on the announcer on the Channel Four News broadcast. He heard every word that man said:  
  
"It is a tragic day in South Park, as yet another innocent child is found brutally murdered."  
  
His eyes turned to the child in the photo on the top right hand corner of the screen. He was all too familiar with that child. The announcer continued:  
  
"Eight-year-old Kyle Broflovski was discovered in his bedroom last night, literally torn to pieces. Young Kyle is the latest in the serial child murders in South Park."  
  
Stan let out a deep sigh. It was just too much for him to bare. It was too sad a message. Perhaps it was even sadder than he even realized.  
  
All his life, Kyle had been Stan's best friend. They bonded very well, always helping out each other, giving each other advice, and sometimes they spoke in unison. Even though there were two others- Kenny McCormick and Eric Cartman- who followed them around constantly, Stan and Kyle were closer to each other than the others. There were reasons for this, of course. Kenny was just a poor kid who constantly fell victim of... bad luck. "Cartman" as they always call him, was just a fat kid who loved to talk other people down. Why these two always hung around Stan and Kyle remains a mystery. Nevertheless, Stan and Kyle were, in a way, more than friends. No, they weren't gay. To Stan, Kyle was the brother he never had and always wanted.  
One week in early March changed all that.  
Stan and his friends were watching an episode of their favorite show, "Terrence and Phillip." And on this particular episode, the duo lit a fart on fire, which ended up burning down a synagogue. To add insult to injury, the crazy Canadians joked about it and even burned a passerby in the process.   
Kyle was Jewish, so it should come to Stan as no surprise why he took offense to this satire. But it was a surprise. It was practically insane to think your bestest friend in the whole world would turn his back on you and all your other friends, and sue the pants off of your idols. It was a betrayal Stan has yet to let go of.  
That was the last time Stan ever saw Kyle.  
  
And now this.  
  
Kyle will never be seen or heard from again, and not because of Stan's wounded pride. Not because he's a traitor and needs to be left alone. Not because Stan never wants to see him again...  
  
He's dead.  
  
Sharon, Stan's mother, entered the room just as Stan was watching the news.  
  
"Stanley?" she asked. "...Stanley, what's wrong?"  
  
Stan pointed to the screen in sorrow.  
  
"They got Kyle, mom."  
  
"What?" Sharon turned to the television, and gasped, "Oh my God... Stanley, I'm so sorry."  
  
"It's okay, mom..." he frowned.  
  
"Are you sure you're gonna be alright? You do have school today."  
  
"I don't wanna go to school. Something might happen there."  
  
"Stanley, it's gonna be alright. Nothing terrible happens at school."  
  
"...Yes it does," he grumbled.  
  
His name is Mr. Garrison.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
"And so, children, that's why Ricki Martin is a two-timing whore, and if he ever shows his face around me again, I'm gonna beat him all the way back to Puerto Rico with a baseball bat!" the teacher concluded.  
  
The classroom was much smaller today. Not so many boys as there are on a normal basis. This became a sudden concern for Garrison.  
  
"Okay," he began, "is there a reason why there are so many absent children today?"  
  
Stan raised his hand sadly.  
  
"Yes, Stanley?"  
  
Stan sighed, "...All the other kids are dead, Mr. Garrison... And Kyle died last night."  
  
The other kids gasped in horror, but Garrison was skeptical.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked. "He said he was gonna come in today and finish his report on Pauly Shore's brain tumor."  
  
"Mr. Garrison?" Stan argued, "isn't it strange that there are only five boys in this classroom?"  
  
Indeed it was true. Out of the remaining classmates, there were only five boys: Stan, Kenny, Cartman, and two others, Clyde and Mark.  
  
"Maybe the others are playing hooky or something," Garrison shrugged.  
  
Kenny giggled and muffled something.  
  
Cartman shook his head, "No, Kenny, he said hooky, not hook-ER. There's a difference."  
  
Garrison turned to Stan with a loom of ignorance.  
  
"Tell me Stanley. Is there a reason why there are so many boys absent?"  
  
Stan nodded, "I've been hearing on the news about little eight-year-old boys around the whole town being brutally murdered. They got their limbs torn out, their heads cut off, their stomachs gutted, blood and bones everywhere..."  
  
The room got nauseated.  
  
Stan continued, "And I think one of them had his eyes stuck in a blender-"  
  
Some kids began to vomit at this point. Garrison stood appalled.  
  
He yelled, "Stanley, get to Mr. Mackey's office right now!"  
  
Stan grumbled and did as he was told.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
If there's one thing worse than being sent to the Principal's office, it's Mackey's.  
  
Stan sat uncomfortably in the chair as the counselor began to lecture:  
  
"M'kay, Stanley, Mr. Garrison tells me you're disrupting the class, m'kay? Can you explain why?"   
  
"Mr. Mackey," Stan warned, "somebody's killing all the eight-year-old boys in the town. Aren't you gonna do something about it?"  
  
"Well, Stanley, m'kay, the police officers are dealing that situation as we speak, m'kay? Don't let that worry you-"   
  
"But I'M an eight-year-old boy! *I* could be NEXT!"   
  
"Now Stanley, you're being paranoid, m'kay? You got too much stuff in your life to worry about as it is, m'kay. Like your homework, and your parents, and your sister beating the crap out of you every day, m'kay?"   
  
"...Can you please not make that last one an issue?"   
  
"Hell no; I think it's funny!" He laughs. "....M'kay?"   
  
"Why doesn't anyone around here care that there's a serial killer out there? Before you know it, all the third grade boys are gonna get chopped and decapitated and who knows what else!"   
  
"Oh shut up, you little pansy!"  
  
Stan gave him a look so cocky, it was down right deadly.  
  
Mr. Mackey went on: "M'kay? Why don't you just stand up to your sister for once in your life?"   
  
"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY SISTER!"   
  
"Don't yell at me, young man, m'kay, 'cause then I'll have to kick your ass, m'kay? Now, Stanley, getting back to your sister..."   
  
Stan sat back down impatiently and turns his head to the window. While Mr. Mackey went on with his lecture, Stan's eyes focused towards the scene outside the window.   
In an instant, a mysterious figure brushed by the window.   
Stan gasped.   
  
"Is there a problem, Stanley?"   
  
"Um...n-nothing..." Stan stuttered.   
  
"Anyways, as I was saying, you gotta put up your fists and threaten your sister that if she gets anywhere near you, you're gonna beat her ass down into oblivion, m'kay?"   
  
"I really don't wanna discuss this with you."   
  
"Well, that's just 'cause you're a wuss, m'kay?"   
  
Stan finally decided to say something:  
  
"Mr. Mackey, something flew by your window by the way."   
  
"Well tell whoever it was that you can take care of yourself, m'kay? Next time, throw the chair at him, m'kay? Now, when your sister tries to hit you with something, block it with a two-by-four, m'kay? Then trip her down the stairs and beat her senseless with a mallet."   
  
Stan got up and began to leave, proclaiming, "If you don't wanna listen to my real problem, I'll just leave."   
  
"M'kay, but if your sister gets pissed off and kills you again, don't come crawling to me you little fairy. Hey, you don't happen to be one of Dorothy's friends, do you?"   
  
Just as he asked that question, Stan shut the door on him.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Mr. Garrison didn't understand. Mr. Mackey didn't understand... Hell; they never understand anything. But the GUYS... my friends would understand.  
  
During recess, Stan gathered his friends Kenny Cartman Clyde and Mark together to discuss the terrible fate that has been creeping around the town lately. He also wanted to tell them about the dark thing that brushed by Mackey's window.  
  
Cartman replied as ignorantly as ever: "Stop being a wuss, Stan."  
  
"I'm NOT a wuss!" Stan exclaimed. "I saw the killer run by Mackey's window! We're doomed!"  
  
"Stan-"  
  
"DOOMED I tell ya!"  
  
"STAN!" Cartman yelled. "You really gotta lay off those friggin' 'Alien' movies."  
  
Stan trembled, "I'm sorry. It's just that... he mostly comes out at night... Mostly."  
  
Mark matter-of-factly (as always) replied, "What you might have seen was an image made up by your imagination, due to your recent attacks of paranoia."  
  
Stan paused, then angrily questioned, "You callin' me a retard, Melvin?"  
  
"No, no!" Mark drew back frightfully. "It's just that... Well..."  
  
Kenny mumbled.  
  
Stan sighed, "I guess you're right, Kenny. It would be crazy to think he'd attack us in the middle of the day, and at school."  
  
"Where we're at our most vulnerable," Clyde added.  
  
Stan started shaking.  
  
That's when Wendy came in.  
  
"Hi, guys," she frowned.  
  
"Hi, Wendy," the guys replied.  
  
"...so you guys know there's a child killer around here, huh?"  
  
"Yeah..." Stan frowned. "He got Kyle last night."  
  
Wendy shook her head. "That's terrible."  
  
Stan nodded, "Yeah... Any one of us guys can be next."  
  
Wendy gasped, "Oh! I thought you were all upset over Kyle's death."  
  
Stan turned to her in shock. "...What? ...Oh, HELL no! He wasn't my friend! I hated his guts! He betrayed me and all my friends!"  
  
Wendy glared angrily at him. "So all you care about is yourself, huh?"  
  
Stan glared back with, "I'm all I got in this world!"  
  
Cartman added, "Yeah, bitch! Go back to Candyland and stick a Popsicle up your ass!"  
  
Wendy snapped, "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"  
  
"....This is the only mouth I HAVE!"  
  
She grumbles.  
  
"Dumbass," Cartman added.  
  
Wendy lectured, "Well, I feel bad for him and all the other boys that died. I'm sympathetic."  
  
"I can be sympathetic," Stan debated.  
  
"For KYLE?" Wendy snapped.  
  
"No. If he were still alive, he'd kiss my ass."  
  
"You're not the kind-hearted boy I thought you'd always be."  
  
"Well, he started it!"  
  
"Who the hell cares who started it? The fight is all over! GET OVER IT!"  
  
".....sorry-"  
  
"No, Stan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever liked you, even if it was puppy love. You're a selfish, careless son of a bitch who's not even fit to lick the dirt I walk on! I hope you drop dead, and when you do, tell Kyle I said 'HI!'"  
  
And with that, she stormed off.  
Stan was beside himself.  
  
Cartman sighed, "I'll kick her in the nuts if you want me to, Stan."  
  
Stan softly replied, "No....forget it....She's right." He hung his head in shame.  
  
Just then, Wendy's voice exclaims:  
  
"Oh, by the way, assholes! I came by to tell you that you were all invited to the teacher's lounge!"  
  
The boys gasped.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
This was an unexpected honor. Why us? Why the teacher's lounge? Did we get straight "A's"? Is it just because we kick ass? ......Is this a trick?  
  
The lounge was a very small room, almost as small as the broom closet down the hall. Every child took a seat by the round table and awaited... whatever reason it was for their being here.  
  
Mark pulled out a book and smiled, "This'll be a great time to do homework."  
  
Clyde smiled, "This'll be a good time to eat! Hey, Cartman, you want anything?"  
  
Cartman growled, "Is that another fat comment, hippie?"  
  
"...Maybe."  
  
"I'll have you know I eat fat-free food!"  
  
Stan commented with a laugh: "Dude, that shit makes you even fatter."  
  
"Oh, and how would YOU know, butt-licker?"  
  
"My sister eats that crap all the time."  
  
"Tell Shelley to ram a vacuum up your ass for me, okay Stan?"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Clyde headed for the door, implying, "Someone should check to see if the teachers are coming..."  
  
Meanwhile, Cartman began to pick a verbal fight with Stan.  
  
"I can kick your bitch ass for two bucks, Stan."  
  
"That's all you can afford, you fat bastard!"  
  
"At least it's two bucks more than Kenny!"  
  
Kenny muffled angrily.  
  
Cartman commented, "It's not my fault your poor, Kenny! You just simply suck."  
  
Stan lashed back: "Kenny's better off than you, fatass! At least HIS mom's not a hermaphrodite!"  
  
"AY! You suck Stan!"  
  
"YOU suck, Cartman!"  
  
Kenny muffled.  
  
"YOU suck, Kenny!" Mark yelled.  
  
"You suck, Mark!" Stan yelled.  
  
As they all yelled at each other, Clyde lost control of the doorknob... and it fell off the door.  
  
Clyde gulped, "...Uh......Guys?.......Guys?"  
  
"What?" the others asked.  
  
"The door's locked," he frowned.  
  
There was a brief pause, then they each replied:  
  
"You suck, Clyde." [Mark]  
  
"You suck big donkey balls, Clyde." [Cartman]  
  
"You're the biggest ass-sucker, Clyde." [Kenny, muffled]  
  
"Hey Clyde, you know that kid who sucks cantaloupe-sized nuts? That's you dude." [Stan]  
  
They spent all evening trying to break down that door.  
With Kenny as the battering ram.  
  
CRASH!  
  
"AGAIN!" commanded Stan.  
  
They charged the door again.  
  
CRASH!  
  
"OOOWWW!" muffled Kenny.  
  
"AGAIN!" yelled Stan.  
  
They repeated the motive.  
  
CRASH!  
  
"OOWW! MOTHERFUCKER!" muffled Kenny.  
  
"AGAIN!" shouted Stan.  
  
While the others tried to break the door down, Mark stood by, shaking his head.  
  
"This is getting us nowhere..."  
  
He turned his attention to the ventilation shaft by the wall and decided to break out through it. He ripped it open, crawled out of the room, and opened the door from the other side.  
Just as the others charged it down one last time.  
  
They all ran into the wall in the hallway, and soon cheered.  
  
"We're out! We're out of the lounge!" cheered Stan.  
  
And that's when they noticed how dark it was. It was practically night time.  
  
Cartman gulped, "...uh.....Guys, what time is it?"  
  
Kenny checked his watch and muffled something.  
  
Mark gasped, "...Five thirty?"  
  
Stan gasped, "...Shit.....Shit! The school's closed! WE'RE LOCKED IN THE SCHOOL!!!"  
  
Mark calmly muttered, "Now let's all just calm down. I'm sure there are other ways out of here besides the front or back door. Let's split up. Stan, you Cartman and Kenny search the front, Clyde and I will search the back. Are we all in agreement?"  
  
"Yes," the others nodded.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
The kitchen doors were open, much to the surprise of Clyde and Mark. Mark flicked on the light.   
  
...It just doesn't seem right to see the kitchen so...empty.  
  
"Hey Mark!" Clyde called out. "Maybe we can raid the vender machine!"  
  
"Isn't that illegal?" Mark asked cautiously.  
  
Clyde shrugged, "Who the hell cares? Besides, we can be here all night. We might as well find something to eat."  
  
"That's true," Mark hungrily responded; "I'm really hungry-"  
  
In the distance, a soft humming noise buzzed:  
  
zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
"...Mark? Was that you?"  
  
"No. I thought it was your stomach."  
  
"...Maybe it was..."  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Mr. Garrison's room was the perfect spot to just kick back and play sock puppet... at least for Cartman it was.  
  
"What was that, Stanley?" Cartman's hand puppet imitated. "You wanna go tot he little boy's room? NO! YOU GO TO HELL! YOU GO TO HELL AND YOU DIE!"  
  
Cartman chuckled, just as Stan and Kenny entered the room.  
  
Stan impatiently asked, "Cartman, where the hell have you been? We gotta find a way outta here!"  
  
Cartman sighed, "Well, fine you guys. You go ahead and find us a way out, while I talk to Mr. Sock Puppet. Isn't that right, Mr. Sock Puppet?"  
  
Sock Puppet replies, "That's right, Mr. Cartman. You're my best friend, Mr. Cartman. I love you!"  
  
Stan and Kenny look to each other, wondering if they should throw Cartman into a mental institute as soon as they get out of this school.  
  
Cartman continued, "You're my best friend too, Mr. Sock Puppet. I think the others can go fuck themselves!"  
  
Stan and Kenny glare at him evilly.  
  
Cartman added, "What do you think, Mr. Sock Puppet?"  
Sock Puppet replied, "I think you're fat."  
  
Cartman paused, then replied angrily: "AY!"  
  
Stan snapped, "Cartman, you gotta help us! Our parents must be worried sick-"  
  
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
Kenny muffled frightfully.  
  
Stan shrugged, "I don't know. Cartman, was that your stomach growling?"  
  
Cartman puffed, "Who wants to know?"  
  
"Seriously, fatass!"  
  
"No, it wasn't me, and I'm not fat!"  
  
Kenny muffled.  
  
Stan nodded, "Okay, Kenny, you go check it out."  
  
And with that, Kenny left.  
  
Stan looked back to Cartman angrily, asking, "So, are you gonna go back to searching for a way out?"  
  
"I think you should talk to Mr. Sock Puppet, Stanley."  
  
"CARTMAN!"  
  
"No, Stanley; talk to Mr. Sock Puppet!"  
  
"I don't wanna talk to Mr. Sock Puppet, you stupid son of a-"  
  
Stan stopped talking to hear the sound of Kenny's muffled scream. The scream is immediately followed by a ...slash. Then silence.  
  
Stan gasped, "...Oh, my God! Kenny!"  
  
Stan and Cartman ran into the hallway.  
  
There was nothing there, and even if there was, it was too dark to notice. Thunder rolled from outside, and lightning flashed as well.  
Stan looked around curiously. He knew Kenny was out here just now, screaming his head off.  
Cartman suddenly got hit in the head by a few tiny drops of liquid.  
  
"Aw, God-dammit!" he complained. "The ceiling's leaking!"  
  
Stan rubbed his head, complaining, "Ah, it got me too!"  
  
"Where the hell did Kenny go?"  
  
"I don't know; maybe he fell somewhere-" He got dripped again. "God dammit!"  
  
His fury coaxed him into looking to the ceiling...  
  
He backed up in terror, and softly shook his voice: "...Cartman....."  
  
"What?" Cartman asked. "What the hell is going on hya?"  
  
All Stan could do was point to the ceiling, and so Cartman looked up. As he did so, lightning flashed so all was visible.  
  
There was Kenny. Hanging from the ceiling. With a huge tear going down his center. The drips hitting Stan and Cartman were drips of Kenny's blood.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
  
The two little boys ran back into Garrison's room, screaming bloody murder. Stan slammed the door shut.  
  
Stan panted, "...He's here....He really is here!......And he just killed Kenny!....." He pointed to Cartman and yelled viciously, "I TOLD you he was here, and you didn't believe me!"  
  
Cartman defended himself: "How the hell was I supposed to know? If I were a killer, I wouldn't be stupid enough to attack mah victims in their school!"  
  
"Don't you get it, fatass? He locked us into the lounge so that we'd be sitting ducks!"  
  
".......That...son of a BITCH!" Cartman roared in anger.  
  
"Come on! We have to find Mark and Clyde, before he kills them too!"  
  
"Hold on, Stan; let me secure Mr. Sock Puppet-"  
  
"STICK THAT FUCKIN' SOCK UP YOUR ASS!" Stan roared as he ran out of the room.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
The gym was even darker than the kitchen, yet Mark and Clyde braved it. Mark moved towards the windows on the walls to try to pry them open.  
  
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
Clyde gasped, "Hey! That strange noise was here again!"  
  
"It might just be rats or something," Mark guessed.  
  
"...Do rats hum?"  
  
Mark shrugged.  
  
"I gotta find out what that was," Clyde decided aloud, and began to search the room.  
  
Unbeknownst to Mark, Clyde heard a basketball dribble near the nearby hoop.   
  
Clyde saw it and whispered, "...Stan? ....Cartman? Is that you?"  
  
The ball rolled into the boys' locker room, and Clyde entered.  
  
Soon, there was a slash sound.  
  
".......Clyde? ..........Clyde, you still there?" Mark asked.  
  
A small bal rolled out of the locker room, and Mark decided to check it out.  
  
He shook his head and lectured, "Clyde, this isn't time to play ball."  
He picked it up and continued, "Let's stop playing around already-"  
  
Lightning flashed and all was visible.  
Mark was not holding a ball.  
It was Clyde's head.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!" Mark shrieked, and as he dropped the object, he ran right out of the room.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
He's here! I knew it! And he's out to get me!  
  
Stan ran desperately down the hall, screaming in terror. It wouldn't be long until he ran smack into Mark, who was doing the exact same thing from the other direction.  
  
"They killed Kenny!" Stan screamed.  
  
"They killed Clyde!" Mark echoed.  
  
"....Oh my GOD!" Stan gasped. "This is actually getting scary!"  
  
Mark asked, "Where's the fat kid? Wasn't he with you!?"  
  
"He was, but he ran another way. I think he went to the cafeteria!"  
  
They took it upon themselves to check the kitchen. Inside, it seemed as it always was, only darker, and no other children around.  
Stan lead Mark to the food court, where it seems as if there was food still ready to be eaten.  
  
Mark sighed, "Maybe we can at least have something to eat while we look for Cartman."  
  
"Yeah," Stan agreed. "And look..."   
  
They started walking down the food bar.  
  
Stan began to list: "They got salad, apples, beans, mashed potatoes, corn..."  
  
Lightning flashed, and all was visible.  
  
Stan continued to look at the objects at the bar: "...eyes, a heart, liver, guts, bones....."  
  
It was Cartman.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Mark and Stan screamed all the way to the back door of the entire building. Stan immediately charged for the locked and chained doorway, and began to shake it like crazy. He also started punching, kicking and ramming it. Finally, after mere seconds of trying to break it open, Stan furiously kicks it one more time. Then he rests his back on it and sits down in despair.  
Mark approached him cautiously.  
  
".....Stan?.......Stan, are you alright?"  
  
"....No.....I'm not alright. We're gonna die, Mark." He gets to his feet and panics, "We've got a killer around here at our school, and there's NO way out!"  
  
Mark smiled with optimism, "We're not dead yet. We might yet find a way out of here, or at least hide very well until the school opens up again. Perhaps we can hold off until then-"  
  
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  
  
The humming sound brushes by, as does a dark figure in the distance.  
  
Stan jumps up and screams, "IT'S HIM! RUN, MARK! RUUUN!"  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
The two last boys find their way back to Mr. Garrison's room safely. Once inside the room, they block the door with Garrison's table. Tired from the running and pushing, they laid back and sighed.  
  
That's when somebody on the other side started to break the door down.  
  
The kids had no choice but to stand away from the door. The mighty fist of the dark figure came thrashing through the door... Funny... it looked more like a cylinder, not a hand. Stan and Mark watched as the door came crashing down and the table tossed away like a stick. Then lightning flashed, and all was visible.  
It was a robot. It had cylinders with steel claws for hands, the torso looked circular like a trash can, and it had no legs; it hovered. That's what was making the buzzing sound all along.  
  
The kids gasped.  
  
"...What the hell is that?" Stan wondered.  
  
To their surprise, the robot's torso opened up, and a torn-apart dummy of Stan came pouring onto the ground. The head rolled right to their feet.  
  
Mark gasped, "...That's you, dude."  
  
Suddenly, the robot charged at Stan.  
  
"RUN, STAN!" Mark shouted.  
  
How can Stan argue? He ran right under the robot and flew out of the room.  
  
Stan ran all through the hallway as fast as he could, with the robot close behind. Once Stan got trapped in a corner, the robot slowed down so it could carefully pick up the child by the cylinders. But Stan was too smart for it. He dodged the slow movements of the machine and headed back the other way.  
  
Back in the classroom, Stan paused to take a quick breather. That's when he realized he was alone.  
  
".....Mark?........Mark, are you there?.........Mark!?"  
  
He stopped by a small object on the floor, and realized it looked like Mark's head.  
  
"....No......Mark......."  
  
Stan knelt by the head in sorrow. Right before he turned to his OWN head by the wall. Then, all at once, it hit him.  
  
Stan got to his feet and spoke angrily: "...That's not Mark......That's not Kenny, that's not Cartman, and that wasn't Clyde either! All these bodies... They're all FAKE! Somebody's making it look like kids are getting killed, and it's not true!" Then he called out: "WHERE ARE THE OTHER KIDS? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US ...WHO ARE YOU???"  
  
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  
  
The robot right behind Stan had an intercom voice that softly replied, "You will know, once you come with us."  
  
Stan gulped, and decided to make a run for it again.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
...can't...let them...get me...  
  
Stan ran as fast as he could, but each time he turned a corner in the hall, there was another robot waiting for him. He was chased all the way to the staircase, which eventually led to the ladder that would take Stan to the rooftop.  
The rooftop. That might just be the answer.  
  
It was pouring outside, and thundering as well. Stan hurried onto the rooftop, where he was sure he was safe. But then he was soon accompanied by robots, which plowed right through the ceiling. He soon found himself surrounded by five of them. and he was right at the edge too.  
  
Stan gulped, than actually began to compromise: "...Look, you guys, I don't know what you want, but I possibly can't have it. Look... my pockets are empty. There's nothing in my hat. I left my schoolbag downstairs..." He turned to the roof's edge (it was such a long way down), then back to the robots. He gulped, ".....What do you want from me?......Tell me....."  
  
Finally, the intercom on one of the robots answered, "I want your brain."  
  
Terrified, Stan backed up, and felt the very edge of the roof slip away from his heel. He tried to balance himself, but it wasn't good enough. For one brief moment, he was in the air, and he was falling. Fast.  
  
Then, all was darkness.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
......wha........where am I?......What happened?........Am I dead?  
  
Stan's eyes opened halfway, in a tired manner. At first, he couldn't tell where he was, because it was just too dark. Then all at once he felt the binding grip of the shackles on his wrists and ankles. He was strapped down to a steel chair.  
He tried to move his wrists, but it was impossible. Suddenly-  
  
"You might as well get uncomfortable..."  
  
Stan turned his head to the tall elderly man in the white doctor's robe. He had graying brown hair, and there were wrinkles starting down his face. And he was smiling very cruelly.  
  
The man continued, "you're going to be here for a while."  
  
Stan asked fearfully, "Who...who are you?"  
  
"I'm sure you're already familiar with my brother Alfonze."  
  
Stan paused, confused.  
  
The man sighed, "Alfonze MAPHESTO?"  
  
Stan gasped, "...you....You're Maphesto's brother?"  
  
The man nodded, "You may call me Herbert."  
  
Stan gasped, "You're the guy that tries to kill Maphesto once every month! You almost killed him when we tried to find out who Cartman's dad was!"  
  
Herbert nodded, "I am. You see, my brother and I are both scientists, and we're in competition. I have to make sure I win the fight." He said this with an evil grin. Stan gulped.  
"...but while HE keeps wasting his time adding asses onto everything, I'm taking a different path. For nearly two decades, I've been striving to be the scientist who would finally create the cure.... for death."  
  
Stan gasped. "...Are you the dude who's been killing all the kids in town?"  
  
"No," Herbert replied, "I never killed them. My robots capture them, but I need to make it look like death so I will not be discovered. For you see, boy, you and all your little friends are part of my latest...and greatest... experiment."  
  
"..........what......experiment?"  
  
Herbert motioned his arm to the object behind him and frowned:  
  
"Behold....my son."  
  
Stan looked slightly to the left, and noticed the big machine with the huge tank in the middle. In the tank was a small child, about Stan's age, and he was strapped inside the machine by wires, and he was drowned in a purple liquid.  
  
Stan frowned, "That's ....your son?"  
  
Herbert bowed his head, took a deep sigh, and began to speak sadly...  
  
"His name is... was... Bobby. He passed away four years ago. He was your age, boy."  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
"He wasn't healthy. He had a sick heart that eventually left him cancerous... paralyzed... then one day, he died..." Then his voice rose from sad to determined: "But the days of mourning are ending, for I, Herbert Maphesto, have created a machine that not only re-animates dead tissue, but thanks to the new formula- the liquid in the tank- it can intensify the tissue to make it five... maybe TEN times stronger than any normal tissue! You see, son, if all goes well, Bobby will not only be born again... He'll be the Perfect Human. He'll be next to invincible! .....He may never have to die again...." He teared up with hopeful joy.  
  
Stan asked, "So where do I fit into this story?"  
  
"I was just getting to that," Herbert grinned. "Over the time I was building this thing, Bobby's internal organs were rotting away, and I could not rejuvenate them. Luckily, I have dozens of eight-year-old boys to choose from...as donors."  
  
"Donors? You mean..."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Just then, Herbert clicked a button on a remote he was holding. Filed right next to Bobby's machine were huge visors, each one holding green liquid... and children. Among them were: Tweek, Craig, Butters, Pip, Token, Kenny, Clyde, Cartman, and Mark.  
  
Stan gasped, "Oh my God... my FRIENDS! What did you do to them?"  
  
"Nothing," Herbert reassured, "...yet. Bobby already has all the organs he needs. I'm keeping your friends locked in their own visors, in case something goes wrong with the organs Bobby already has. Besides, their families think they're dead. Nobody will care."  
  
Stan glared angrily at him. "...And now you're gonna do the same to me?"  
  
Herbert shook his head. "No. I'm not finished yet."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Bobby has all the organs he needs except for one... neurotransmitters... brain cells."  
  
"You mean a brain?"  
  
"Listen, boy. A human brain that's been dead over time doesn't exactly rot away... at least not for many many years. Bobby still has his original brain, but he lost a lot of cells that make it function. I'm too scared to think what would happen if he didn't get enough brain cells... So I will require yours."  
  
"Wh...Why me?"  
  
"Because you are the second-smartest boy in South Park."  
  
"...Second-smartest?"  
  
"I did have THE smartest boy here earlier today... Unfortunately for Bobby, he escaped. He's still running around here, and my robots are still looking for him. But I cannot wait any longer for him to be recaptured. Bobby needs brain cells, and he needs them NOW!"  
  
The table Stan was strapped on began to rotate, until all Stan could see was the ceiling.  
  
"Oh God, spare me! Please!" Stan pleaded.  
  
Herbert shook his head. "Sorry, kid, but if you don't let me do this the easy way, we'll have to do it... manually.  
  
A big machine lowered right over Stan, and it had countless gizmos on it. Chainsaws, screws, knives of all kinds... All headed for Stan's head.  
  
All Stan could do was scream in horror.  
  
And that's when Kyle came in.  
  
"HEADS UUUUUUUUUUP!!!" he screamed, as he swung down from the second level of the building by a chain that held another machine.  
  
Kyle's impact made the operating machine crash down. Kyle tumbled onto the floor, and as soon as he rose up, he pulled out a laser gun and shot all the robots in sight.  
  
Stan gasped in disbelief, "......Kyle?"  
  
Kyle turned to Stan and ran to the table. He pulled out a knife and cut Stan free. The two of them began to dart across the room, towards the shaft in the wall.  
  
Herbert shouted at the robots: "GET THAT BOY IN THE GREEN HAT! HE'S THE BRAIN I WANT!"  
  
The robots tried to chase them, but it was too late. They were safe in the tunnel way inside the walls of the building.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
...So here I am. I'm tired, I'm lost, and some nut job wants my brain, and now I'm stuck in a tunnelway..........with Kyle.  
  
They spent the first few minutes trying to catch their breath. Finally, Kyle broke the silence:  
  
"...Are you alright?"  
  
"...Yeah. ...You?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
They stared at each other, one wondering what's going through the mind of the other. But they were both thinking about the same thing.  
The lawsuit. The betrayal. The end of the friendship.  
  
".........So....." Stan began, in a nervous tone.  
  
"........So......" Kyle echoed.  
  
".....SO WHY THE HELL DID YOU COME BACK?" Stan blasted, letting out all his fury.  
  
Kyle retaliated, "I never wanted to be here! I was kidnapped, just as you were!"  
  
"Maybe so, but I never asked for your help, did I?"  
  
"Oh God, dude, don't start-"  
  
"Don't call me dude. Only my FRIENDS call me dude."  
  
Kyle glared at him angrily. "Do we have to get into this again? NOW?"  
  
"Well, we might as well. It's just you and me-"  
  
"No, Stan. We have to get the hell out of here. There's a passageway here that'll lead us to the back of the building."  
  
"How the hell do you know that?"  
  
"I've been here all damn day, du...I mean Stan!"  
  
Kyle walked over to a doorway that would take them deeper into the wall.  
  
Kyle advised, "It's gonna be dark, but I think it'll be okay..."  
  
Stan asked, "Why are you here anyway? What does that guy want from you?"  
  
"My brain."  
  
"Why yours?"  
  
Kyle turned to him and spoke as seriously as ever: "Because I'm a God-damned GENIUS! you got a problem with that?"  
  
"I got a problem with you altogether," Stan grumbled as he turned away with crossed arms.  
  
Kyle approached him and growled, "Oh yeah? Well maybe you haven't noticed, but I have been here all damn day, and I know a way otu, and I would've been out by now, but am I? No. Why? Because just as I was about to walk out, I saw them drag you in here! So basically, the only reason WHY I'm still in this place is because I wanna save your ASS!"  
  
Stan paused, realizing that what Kyle said was true. He sighed.  
  
Kyle asked, "So are you coming or not?"  
  
"No," Stan quickly answered. "Not without the others."  
  
Kyle gasped, "...Others?"  
  
Stan turned to him angrily, thinking he should've known by now. "The other guys are here. Cartman, Kenny, Mark, and a lot of others. They're all still alive and we gotta break them out before Mephesto's brother kills them!"  
  
"I'm sorry...I didn't see them..." Kyle shamefully bowed his head. "...so where are they?"  
  
"I'll save them," Stan replied as he began to walk out of the wall.  
  
Kyle followed, saying, "I'll save them too!"  
  
Stan glared at him and sighed, "You can tag along if you want."  
  
All Kyle could do was give Stan the evil eye.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
They had to work quickly, since they were finally alone.  
  
Kyle began to pry open Cartman's tank with his small knife. And as he did so, Stan was tempted to ask:  
  
"By the way, Kyle? Where'd you get the gun and knife?"  
  
Kyle simply stated: "When you run around a lab long enough, you get to pick up souvenirs... It kinda kicks ass."  
  
Finally, he freed Cartman, who came out of his consciousness as soon as he was separated from the machine.  
  
Cartman weakly muttered: "...you guys....what the hell.....happened?......Screw you guys....."  
  
"He's really out of it", Stan observed as he opened up Kenny's chamber via crowbar. Kenny was as weak as Cartman was.  
  
"Hurry!" Kyle commanded. "We got a lot more people to free, and that guy might come back!"  
  
"Too late," Herbert replied.  
  
The children gasped and screamed, realizing he was behind them.  
  
Herbert looked to Kyle and smiled, "There you are. I was looking all over for you."  
  
Suddenly, Stan snapped, "Leave him alone, asshole!"  
  
Kyle looked to Stan with a pleasant smile.  
  
Stan added, "He's our ticket out of here!"  
  
Kyle's happy face sank into an angry one.  
  
Herbert pointed to Kyle and told the robots: "Get that child, robots."  
  
Kyle pulled out his gun and opened fire to the robots. They reacted by splitting up and start to charge at him on all sides. Kyle made a run for it as Stan continued to free his friends. Next he opened up Mark's cell.  
Kyle continued to shoot at the robots, while Cartman and Kenny finally realized where they were.  
  
Cartman rubbed his head and weakly asked, "uuuuuhhhh....Where the hell are we?..........Kyle? Oh my God, KYLE!"  
  
"No time, fatass!" Kyle shouted. "We're being chased by robots!"  
  
Stan corrected him, "YOU'RE being chased by robots; the REST of us are getting the hell out of here!"  
  
"But Stan-" Kyle pleaded.  
  
Stan sneered at Kyle, looking annoyed as ever.  
  
Kyle screamed, "FUCK YOU TOO!"  
  
Kyle began to shoot a robot who was in front of the machine that held Bobby. This made Herbert very worried.  
  
Herbert frightfully warned the robots, "Robots, don't let him damage Bobby's machine!"  
  
It was too late. One of the robots flew to Kyle, but the impact of his laser caused it to fly back into the bottom part of Bobby's machine.  
There was a shudder in the ground, as the electric pulse of the generator was suddenly activated. The whole ground soon shook, making everyone fall to their feet. The impact caused the visors holding the children to break. All the kids fell out of the machines, waking up just as quickly.  
  
Stan quivered, "...uh...What just happened?"  
  
Herbert screamed in fear, "YOU STUPID KIDS! YOU ACTIVATED THE MACHINE!"  
  
Kyle yelled back, "So turn it off!"  
  
"I can't!" Herbert cried. "It's too late; if I turn it off now he'll be dead forever!"  
  
The electric generators on the machine began to intensify. Soon the lightning bolts were oozing down from the top to the bottom of the machine. The liquid in the tank faded from purple to bright yellow. The ground was so unstable everyone fell to their knees.  
Then the machine's generator exploded. Herbert opened his eyes after the shockwave, and all he noticed was the fire on the machine.  
  
"NOOOOOO!" he screamed.  
  
In moments, everything fell still. The crashing and exploding were all shattered by sudden silence. It was dark once again.  
  
Herbert picked up a nearby fire extinguisher and put out the fire, while the children came to their feet in a daze.  
  
Stan turned to the machine and noticed that Bobby was still inside. "...Is he still dead?" he asked softly.  
  
Herbert wished he wasn't.  
  
....thump-thump....thump-thump.....thump-thump.....thump-thump......  
  
Herbert looked to the monitor by the huge machine and gasped, "....Can it be?...."  
  
He ran to the monitor and saw an electric pulse. His face softly faded from sad... to excited.  
  
His voice shook: "...he's alive........He's alive!"  
  
Stan gasped, "But.....I-I thought....Doesn't he need brain cells?"  
  
Herbert turned his head to him, with anger sinking into his eyes. "...You little idiots," he hissed.   
  
Kyle stepped back and gasped, "What? What did WE do?"  
  
Herbert yelled, "You turned on the machine! It's too EARLY!"  
  
Cartman wondered, "What? What the hell's wrong?"  
  
Herbert frustratingly explained, "Bobby doesn't have enough neurotransmitters in his brain. He's lacking something..."  
  
Bobby's hand quivered.  
  
"What's he missing?" Kyle asked.  
  
"I don't know," Herbert shrugged.  
  
Bobby's ankle twitched.  
  
"...but it HAS to be important, otherwise he wouldn't be human!"  
  
Stan fearfully pondered, "...But if he's alive...and not human....What is he?"  
  
Bobby's flaming red eyes shot open.  
  
Everyone witnessed Bobby struggling to break free from his confinement. With ease, he ripped all the wires he was connected to, but he still had the cuffs that were wrapped around his wrists, legs and forehead. For two seconds, he was paddling underwater with no trouble at all. But then he realized he needed air.  
He put his hands on the wall of the tank, knowing for sure there was a way out.  
He pounded it once, and the whole machine quaked.  
  
"Uh-oh..." Kenny mumbled.  
  
Bobby's eyes angered, and he pounded it again, shaking it even harder. Then he quickly swam to the other side of the tank. With his feet, he shot himself across the tank, and crashed into the outter side of the tank. A crack in the glass was created.  
  
Herbert gasped, "That glass is as thick as a doorway..."  
  
Bobby did the same trick again, and an even bigger crack was made.  
  
Stan tried as calmly as possible to inform: "...Uh...We should get out of here..."  
  
Kyle nodded, just as scared, "Yeah...That's .....a good idea."  
  
Everyone started to make a run for it, as bobby made one more attack on the tank's glass.  
He flew right out of there. The whole room flooded with yellow water, and all the kids were taken in by the oncoming wave. The water soon spilled away, and everyone soon got to their feet, coughing and gagging.   
  
Herbert brushed off the water as much as he could, and the first thing he wanted to find was Bobby.  
  
There he was, crouched in a very dark corner, choking on the liquid he almost drowned in.   
  
***~~@~~***  
  
........I.......am alive............What.....am I?...............  
  
Herbert approached his son as slowly and carefully as possible. Right behind him followed Stan Kyle Cartman and Kenny. The other boys fell into the background, still trying to figure out what was going on.  
The resurrected child stayed crouched, facing the corner he was in. It was very shadowy in that corner, so it was hard to tell what he looked like. As Herbert crept closer to him, he noticed that all seemed well.  
Bobby looked the way he should: blonde hair, although it was all a tangle; only wearing black boxer shorts, and his skin looked healthier than ever. Herbert also noticed how much muscular Bobby was now. Especially in his arms and legs; they seemed thicker and stronger than anyone else's.  
  
But as soon as Herbert reached out to touch him, Bobby let out a small, soft growl. Herbert jumped back in surprise. That didn't sound human at all...  
  
".......Bobby?.........Bobby, it's me.......Daddy...." Herbert calmly whispered.  
  
Bobby turned his head to his father. Something was different about his eyes... something that should not even exist.  
Red irises.   
  
Herbert approached him further, sadly speaking: "Bobby... Do you remember me?.... Come here, son....It's okay..."  
  
Bobby supported himself on all fours, backing up even more into the corner. Like a frightened animal.  
He growled softly, his eyes burning red.  
  
Herbert reached out his hand.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you," he admitted calmly.  
  
His hand was only two inches from Bobby's face.  
And if he didn't pull it back as quickly as he did, Bobby would've eaten it.  
  
Herbert jumped back in terror.  
Bobby let out a savage roar, looking at his own father in the eye, angrily.  
  
"....so that's what happened," Herbert frowned.  
  
"What?" Stan wondered. "What happened to him?"  
  
As Bobby paced around like a caged tiger, Herbert explained:  
  
"Bobby's brain deteriorated until there was almost no cells left. But some never rotted away. They must be the ones that make all living creatures think the way they do."  
  
"I don't get it," Kyle admitted.  
  
Herbert rephrased, "Every living creature has a certain amount of neurotransmitters, but humans have more than animals. That's what makes us so civilized and intelligent. Bobby lost all the brain cells he needs to be...civilized."  
  
Stan asked, "So what is he, like a wild animal now?"  
  
"Basically," Herbert sadly theorized.  
  
Suddenly, Bobby jumped right in front of Stan.  
  
This was a different creature. It walked on two legs. So Bobby decided to do the same, for a little while. What did it smell like? Bobby took small whiffs of Stan's scent. Then he sneezed.  
Stan giggled, which made Bobby angry.  
He snarled, then turned away and began to prowl on all fours away from all of them. Cartman then sighed:  
  
"So let me get this straight. We were all brought here by robots, just so we can watch a mad scientist wake up a PSYCHO KID?"  
  
Herbert growled, "He's not psychotic. I can still save him; I built another machine that can resurrect the dead. I'll just put him to sleep, and fix his brain-"  
  
"With MY brain cells?" Kyle asked quickly, looking scared.  
  
Herbert nodded. "Nothing personal kid, but I want what's best for my son."  
  
Kyle got into a running position and declared, "Well, I know what's best for ME!" And with that, he darted out of the scene.  
  
The other kids followed right after Kyle, while Herbert pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it, addressing his robots:  
  
"Robots, find the child with the green hat. I want him alive, understand? Forget the other children, just get me that one." He put the walkie-talkie away, then turned to where he thought Bobby was. "Bobby? .....Bobby??"  
  
He was nowhere in sight.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
The tunnelway was their only hope of getting out alive.  
  
Leading the other children was Kyle, with Stan Cartman and Kenny close behind him.  
  
"Are you sure you know the way out, Kyle?" Token asked.  
  
Kyle nodded, "I saw a room kinda far from here that had an opening from the outside. That has to be our way out."  
  
Stan shook his head, skeptical, "Are you sure?"  
  
Kyle looked to him with a sigh; "You still don't trust me, do you?"  
  
Kenny muffled in a friendly manner.  
  
Kyle smiled, "Thanks, Kenny. I was hoping someone would-"  
  
CRASH!  
  
Bobby tore his way through the steel wall in microseconds, scaring the other children to death. He gave them a vicious growl.  
  
Kyle gulped, "....Easy Bobby......We're not gonna hurt you."  
  
Cartman nodded, "Good Kyle. Now tell him he won't hurt us!"  
  
Kyle muttered, "Shut up, fatass." To Bobby, he spoke as calmly as possible. "Steady.....Steady... See, we're friends....Frieeends..."  
  
Bobby then smelled a familiar scent in the air, and suddenly turned to Stan. He looked deeper at him, making sure it was the right creature he thought it was. He hissed at Stan evily.  
  
Kyle muttered to his friend, "I think he hates you, dude."  
  
Stan replied sarcastically, "You THINK?"  
  
Stan's tone of voice is what set Bobby off. He lunged at Stan furiously, knocking Kyle over.  
  
"STAN!" Kyle screamed.  
  
Moving as fast as possible, Kyle grabbed Bobby by his shoulders and thrusted him into the wall.  
  
"Run, Stan!" Kyle yelled.   
  
Stan made a run for it, right before Bobby threw Kyle off of his shoulders.   
  
Bobby charged at Stan, but Stan was able to find an escape patch in the wall. He flew right into another darkened room of the building. As soon as Bobby jumped into the room, he tackled Stan to the floor and began punching and biting him. Stan tried to fight him off, but Bobby was twice his strength. Truthfully, he was more than that, but Bobby wasn't using all his energy at the moment.  
Kyle rushed in and rammed into Bobby in an attempt to knock him off of Stan. Kyle grabbed him by the throat, but Bobby grabbed him by his coat collar and threw him away... again.  
Kyle flew across the room, over a table. He then gave a whistle and a holler:  
  
"Hey! Hey, psycho kid!"  
  
"RRrrr?" growled Bobby, realizing where the other strange creature was.  
  
Kyle screamed, "Come and get me, you crazy son of a bitch!"  
  
Taking up his offer, Bobby pushed Stan away and readied himself to charge at Kyle. Kyle positioned himself for his latest plan. As soon as Bobby began his charge, Kyle pushed the steel table until it fell to the ground. Its top part faced Bobby's direction. Just in time, Kyle's plan worked; Bobby ran face-first into the table, leaving an imprint of his head in it.  
Bobby then pulled his face out of the dent, then wobbled around, and fell unconscious.  
  
Stan rubbed his aching head and walked over to Kyle, who started giggling uncontrollably.  
  
Stan glared at him with annoyance. "...What the hell is so funny?"  
  
Kyle giggled, "He kicked your ass."  
  
Stan angrily asked, "And you think that's funny?"  
  
Kyle honestly nodded, "Uh-huh!"  
  
Stan rushed him, yelling, "You wouldn't think it was funny if it was YOU-"  
  
Kyle pushed him away, now more serious. "Hey, hey HEY! Calm down; I just saved your life... again, I might add."  
  
Stan accused, "Well, you woke him up, remember? We wouldn't be in this situation if you didn't blow up his machine!"  
  
Kyle moved away, brushing him off. "Alright alright... Look, I don't wanna fight you anymore."  
  
"I don't wanna speak to you anymore!" Stan snapped.  
  
"...Is this because of the lawsuit? Why can't you just drop it? That was like a month ago; just let it go already."  
  
"I'm not mad at the lawsuit. I'm mad because I can't trust you anymore. You're like some guy I don't know. You're not the Kyle I grew up with!"  
  
"But I wanna be your friend again."  
  
"Bull-SHIT! The only reason why I want you to stay alive is so I can find a way out of here. When we get out of this I don't ever wanna hear from you again."  
  
"Even when we've been friends for years?"  
  
"Eight fucking years I can never get back!"  
  
Stan gasped and covered his mouth.  
  
...Did I just say that? Oh my God... I didn't... mean it...  
  
Kyle frowned more sadly than ever.  
  
"...Kyle...Kyle, I didn't mean-"  
  
"Forget it," Kyle softly breathed. He turned away and looked to the ladder that would take them to another level of the building.  
  
Kyle pointed to it and theorized, "That second level may be safer for us. You can go first."  
  
As he started up the ladder, Stan sighed, "Look, I appreciate you helping me and the others, but... You just don't get it. I'm mad at you because that lawsuit you made was a stab in the back for me. I just never thought you'd be so...... selfish."  
  
Kyle looked away, acting like he wasn't listening.  
  
Stan continued, "If we get outta here, we can try to be friends again, if that's what you really want. But you gotta understand that I have feelings too, and you should've thought about them before you decided to be my enemy."  
  
Kyle paused, then he called to Stan once he was on that second level, "I never asked to be your enemy!"  
  
As Kyle finally began to climb the stairway, Bobby's eyes opened from his unconsciousness.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
At this point, the other boys found a different way out of the tunnel. They found themselves looking over a new room. Like all the other rooms, it was cold and dark, and completely made of steel. It looked no different than the one from which they came. But one thing did stand out.   
A table. With a phone.  
  
As he ran to the table, Mark exclaimed, "I'm gonna phone the police!"  
  
"The police?" Token complained; "They couldn't help us out of a dumpster!"  
  
"We gotta at least try," Mark argued.  
  
As one should, he dialed 9-1-1.  
  
The other line picked up the call. It was a woman's voice, "9-1-1. What's the emergency?"  
  
Mark explained as calmly as he could: "We're trapped in some weird-looking lab, by a guy and his maniac kid. We need the police!"  
  
The other line replied a bit rudely, "Is this a crank call?"  
  
Mark's eyes narrowed with irritation and sarcastically replied, "Yes, Ma'am, it's a crank call. I got bored and suddenly had the urge to bust your stones."  
  
The lady replied, "In that case, goodbye-"  
  
Mark panicked, "NO NO NO! I was kidding! This really is an emergency!"  
  
"Explain the emergency."  
  
"This mad scientist kidnapped all us kids, and is using us for experiments."  
  
"...Nice try, kid. Next time, be more original."  
  
"Miss, you don't understand..."  
  
As Mark yells at the phone, the other children sit back and await the arrival of either the scientist, his son, or Kyle and Stan. At this point, anything will be more exciting than listening to the little Melvin bitch at the operator.  
  
Mark continued, "There is a mad man after us! He tried to kill us once already, and he'll do it again! Please HELP!"  
  
"....Hold on one second..."  
  
Mark began to strangle the phone and growled, "Aw, son of a bitch!"  
  
Cartman huffed, "Where the hell did Kyle and Stan go?"  
  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
They were walking around, aimlessly in the lab. Going through one room and coming into another, looking for a way out of there... and food.  
  
Stan groaned, "So where the hell is this way out, Kyle?"  
  
"I don't know; I was always running around inside the walls. I couldn't see where I was going 'till I was there."  
  
"Oh, great," Stan huffed, "I guess this means we're lost."  
  
"We've been lost ever since we got here. We don't even know where 'here' is."  
  
Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them from a higher level. Bobby.  
  
These were strange-looking creatures. Walking around on two legs, talking angrily to each other... as if they all hated each other.   
  
...If they hate each other so much, why am I with them? Why am I here?  
  
zzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz  
  
Bobby heard the buzzing noise, turned around, and suddenly found himself surrounded by giant metal beasts.  
They charged at him, but his super speed couldn't be out-matched. He leaped off of the walkway, grabbed a chain that dangled from the ceiling, and slid down it to the ground.  
The robots tried to keep up, but as soon as he turned a new corner, they lost him.  
  
Running from everybody was becoming more and more tiresome. Running from angry creatures was not Bobby's idea of a good life. There had to be a way out. There had to be an answer to all this.  
That's when he walked by his reflection in the steel wall.  
  
He walked by it at first, then he realized that there was the vision of a small creature that walked by him. He ran back to the wall, and saw the creature. It looked just like the ones that he's been running from. And it was staring at him with evil-looking red eyes.  
  
Bobby growled, and the creature growled right back. He looked like he meant business. Bobby gave it a threatening look, and It gave the look right back. Bobby would not be able to stand these threats any longer. He took a few steps back, and so did the creature. Bobby charged right at It, and It charged at Bobby.  
  
CLANG!  
  
Bobby's head rammed right into the wall so hard, it left a really big dent. He yanked his head out, and wobbled around in pain for a few minutes.  
He roared at the creature... then realized that the creature was dented. He gasped, and stood there as still as tone, gazing at the wall.  
  
He just realized that it was, in fact, a wall.  
  
His head turned to the right to make sure he was right. Sure enough, his reflection shifted from the dent to a solid side, looking like a normal creature again.  
  
Bobby's fury was spirited away, replaced with confusion and fear. He slowly crept to the wall, still focusing on his reflection. Face to face with the wall, he sniffed for its scent. It had none. Then to double-check to make sure it wasn't alive, he reached out his hand to feel for its temperature. It was cold as steel could get. And on top of that, he realized one more thing.  
His reflection's hand looked like the hands of the ones he's been chasing around... It was his hand.  
  
"...uhh?" he gasped.  
  
He pulled his hand away from the wall, and stared at it. This was indeed a hand the other creatures had. ...and his hair felt like theirs... and his body was built like theirs... and his eyes... He stared at the reflection of his eyes, wondering why his eyes were red when no one else's were.  
  
That didn't matter; one thing was important to know: he was one of them. All this time, he was one of them.  
  
...So why do they hate me?......  
  
"Bobby! ........BOBBY-Y-Y!" an older man's voice called in the distance.  
  
Bobby remembered that voice. That was the man that first talked to him.  
Taking one more look at his reflection, his heavy heart decided to find that creature. Maybe he will be able to clear all this up.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
"...This is all my fault..." Herbert murmured, as he continued to clean the mess his son left behind in that room he was reborn in.   
  
Mopping the floor of all the liquid that came from Bobby's resurrection machine, the scientist sighed with despair. He was beginning to wonder if any good would come out of this experiment. He was beginning to wonder if Bobby was better off now than he was years ago... Back when he understood human language and all...  
  
Just then, he heard a rustle.  
  
Herbert gasped, "...Bobby?"  
  
Indeed it was. He was hiding in a corner, near the machine he was reborn in. He stared at the tall creature with a look of fright.  
  
"Bobby," Herbert smiled.   
  
He began to approach him, but once he did his scared son backed away a bit.  
  
"Don't be afraid," Herbert calmly told him. "I'm not gonna hurt you."  
  
The child stopped moving away, and instead stood there, crouched on all fours, waiting for the tall creature to do something to him.  
  
Herbert took a seat and sighed, "Let's talk... Well, just listen to me. I know I don't look familiar, and I don't fully understand why, but you gotta believe I'm the good guy here. I'm the guy that brought you back to life... See, it's a long story.... You were sick..... Very sick... You had a heart problem.... There were days when you couldn't even get out of bed... You were too weak.... And then one day, you......you just......didn't get up....." Herbert paused, trying hard as possible to hold back his inner pain. "......All I wanted to do was make you better.... I felt bad for you. You couldn't play outside with the other kids.... You couldn't do much..... And I knew you were gonna die at a young age... I couldn't bear it......." He paused to make sure if Bobby was still there. He was, so he continued on: "I'm so sorry things went wrong. I never meant for this to happen. I didn't want to make you savage and forget who you are- or what you are...... Just...... Please come out of there."  
  
Bobby was beginning to get the idea that this creature wasn't hostile. It wasn't what he said, but it was his tone of voice that made this tall creature seem more pleasant than before. And he could tell that this creature wanted to see him. So, he peered a little further out of the corner.  
  
Herbert smiled, "...That's it.... Come on out. Let me see you."   
  
Herbert motioned for Bobby to step forward, so he did. The child looked at this tall creature with great curiosity. He could've sworn that this was an enemy, somebody that wanted to hurt him. Now all of a sudden he didn't seem so bad. Maybe it was all just a bad case of misjudgment...  
  
Herbert knelt to the ground and smiled, "....I'm Daddy.......Can you say that? .......Daddy?......."  
  
Bobby gave him a confused look. What was it saying?  
  
"Da-ddy," Herbert said.  
  
Bobby decided it was time to learn this language, and muttered through his savagely twisted voice: "......aaa......abbbabbb.....uhhh...."  
  
"That's okay; take your time," Herbert smiled. "Daaaaaddyyyy..."  
  
Bobby tried again: "....aaaaa.....mmmaaaaa....." He shook his head in frustration; he knew he was saying it wrong.  
  
"Da-ddy," Herbert said.  
  
Bobby tried it once more, with determination: "...Daaaa....D.....Daaad.........eeeee......D....Daaa......daaadee....da-ddy......." He gasped; it sounded like he did it right. "...Daddy.....Daddy!" For once, Herbert saw his son smiling.  
  
Teary-eyed, Herbert told him, "Come here..."  
  
No longer feeling threatened by "Daddy," Bobby calmly approached him. As soon as he came close enough, Herbert scooped him up in his arms and embraced him like any loving father would.   
Bobby seemed confused, with a look that read:  
  
...That's IT? Is this all he wanted? A hug?  
  
Herbert was all choked up as he apologized, "I'm sorry.....I'm so sorry this happened.... I knew this wasn't the best thing for you, but it was the only way.... I just couldn't let you go....." He released his son so he can talk to him eye to eye: "I can fix this. I have another machine you need to go in. I can give you brain cells there. I'll fix it so that you'll be normal, like all the other kids. You're gonna be alright, son..." He gave him a long hug again, murmuring, "...I love you..."  
  
Hmmm....This was different. This wasn't something the other creatures did. This tall creature... "Daddy"... was telling Bobby that he loved him. And all at once, Bobby understood this. He finally came to realize that Daddy is a good creature. Maybe the other creatures were just as nice. Maybe they weren't. But no matter how those other creatures acted, one thing remained the same: Daddy was a good person. And Bobby was beginning to love him.  
  
Bobby gently wrapped his arms around Herbert, and with a calm smile, he purred, "......Daddy....."  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
"Look, lady, you're not getting this," Mark continued to argue with the operator on the phone with a shaky voice. "All I ask is that you get us in contact with the police, so we can be rescued!"  
  
The operator continued to argue back, "Look, young man, it's been a long day. I've been dealing with emergency call after emergency call. It's like I'm in fuckin' New York City. I don't have time for childish pranks. Now I'm gonna hang up-"  
  
"NO!" Mark cried out. "Don't hang up!"  
  
Cartman grabbed the phone and screamed, "LISTEN, BITCH! IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY FOR ALL OF US! WE'RE TIRED, WE'RE SCARED, AND I'M TWO SECONDS AWAY FROM RAMMING YOUR BITCH ASS INTO A BRICK WALL! NOW GET US ON THE LINE WITH A COP OR I'LL MAKE YOU BEG FOR A TRIP TO NEW YORK!"  
  
The operator paused, then concluded, ".......hold please....."  
  
Cartman turned to Mark and nodded, "You gotta let 'em who's the one with the balls, know what I'm sayin'?"  
  
"Hello," a man's voice greeted on the other line. "This is Officer Norman-"  
  
Cartman cried out, "Officer? We need help! We're trapped in a mad man's lab, and we could die if we don't get out!"  
  
"Where are you, young man?"  
  
Cartman replied, sounding like a scared child instead of the actual, pissed off one he was; "I don't know. We haven't been outside for hours."  
  
Officer Norman calmly replied, "Okay, son, calm down. You say you're in a lab?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"There aren't any known labs in town, but we do have factories... Is the place oily and smelly?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Is it solid steel?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Does it seem like The Boogie Man, or Christopher Walken would pop out at any second?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Well, son, you might be in an oil plant!"  
  
"An OIL PLANT!?"  
  
"What'd he say?" Clyde asked.  
  
Cartman answered, "He said we were in an oil plant."  
  
"What a fuckin' dumbass!" Craig replied.  
  
Cartman yelled at the phone, "There aren't any oil plants in South Park, you fucking dumbass!"  
  
The Officer giggled, "Well duh. I never said there were."  
  
"You just said-"  
  
"Son, you're not in South Park. You couldn't possibly be."  
  
"Well .....then..... Where are we?"  
  
"Houston, Texas."  
  
"...........GOD DAMN SON OF A FUCKING COCK-SUCKING DICKWEED PEICE OF SHIT!!!"  
  
"Aw, come on; it's not that bad a town-"  
  
"NO! We're South Park kids. We need to go home right now!"  
  
"South Park kids? You mean eight-year-old South Park kids?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"....Aren't you supposed to be dead?"  
  
"Oh, I guess that's why nobody saved us YET!"  
  
"Just calm down, son. We'll search every oil plant in the city, even the broken-down ones. We'll save you and take you home."  
  
".....Alright.... Thank you...."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"....goodbye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Cartman hung up the phone, and sighed sadly,  
  
"Well, you guys, looks like we're screwed.... We're in Houston."  
  
The kids gasped.  
  
Mark pulled himself together just in time to say: "Don't worry, you guys. All we gotta do is wait it out. The cops'll come here as soon as possible. Nothing can hurt us for a while-"  
  
zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!  
  
Hearing the buzzing noise and recognizing it, Cartman glared evilly at Mark and growled,  
  
"I fucking hate you Melvins."  
  
The kids saw the robots coming and ran for their lives.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
The exit has to be close by.... It just has to be...  
  
Kyle and Stan walked right back to the room from which all this mayhem got started. As soon as he recognized the resurrection room, Stan turned to Kyle with renewed fury.  
  
"You said this was the way out," he softly began.  
  
Kyle gulped, "...I....I must've made a wrong turn-"  
  
"You're just full of wrong turns, aren't you?"  
  
"Stan, I'm sorry-"  
  
"Sorry doesn't cut it, you stupid dick."  
  
Kyle sat by the wall and sighed, "Maybe we should just try to find the others."  
  
"In this room?" Stan roared.  
  
Kyle roared back, "Can you think of a better room!?"  
  
"Grrrrrrrrr..." a familiar voice growled.  
  
Knowing it was Bobby that just growled, Stan glared at Kyle and replied, "I can think of a lot of better rooms right now."  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Some of the other children have scattered into small groups, and some have gone off on their own. They only did this to try to confuse the robots, but some were still chased by them. Mark in particular went off on his own, and headed all the way back to the room that Kyle and Stan have re-entered.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
"....you kids..." Herbert growled deeply as he approached Kyle and Stan.  
  
Stan gasped as he recognized the approaching man, "Oh shit..."   
  
Herbert glared at them with a look of distrust as he spoke: "I understand that this whole situation seems out of line... But I have to do what's best for my son."  
  
Kyle stared at Bobby, who was staring at the scene from the walkway of the second level.  
  
Herbert went on, "I seem like I'm insane... Maybe you're right. But as you can see, my son was dead, and lives again. I have fulfilled my goal... most of it anyway. All I have to do is make one more adjustment..." He stopped in front of Kyle and concluded, "Your brain cells-"  
  
"You can't have them!" Kyle yelled as he clutched onto his head.   
  
Kyle then made a run for it towards the doorway. He was suddenly stopped by robots that came out of nowhere. He dodged their claws and headed for another side of the room. He was then stopped in his tracks by Bobby.   
  
"Let him go!" Stan suddenly yelled.  
  
Herbert asked sternly, "Why should I? He should be happy; he's gonna be remembered for this."  
  
"As a friggin' guinea pig," Stan growled.  
  
Herbert shook his head and sighed, "...Yes... I know it's harsh to think of it that way... But I'm so close to perfection-"  
  
"Perfection is a myth!" Kyle suddenly roared.   
  
Herbert and Stan turned to him in surprise.  
  
Kyle continued: "You talk about perfection like it exists, but it doesn't. It's a fairy tale as much as vampires, and Bigfoot, and Jesus being The Son Of God..."  
  
Herbert looked to Stan with confusion, and Stan advised, "He's Jewish."  
  
Kyle went on: "If perfection existed, none of the evil would exist in the world. We wouldn't have a Holocaust or any school shootings, or abortions, or locusts-"  
  
"Locusts?" Herbert asked surprisingly.  
  
"He's losing it too," Stan added.  
  
Kyle shook his head in frustration as he went on: "Okay, so maybe my speech isn't perfect. Big deal! Here's my point. Nobody is born with perfection, but that shouldn't make us strive for it. We gotta accept our physical faults and try to improve our emotional ones. Isn't that what God wanted?"  
  
Stan smiled, "...Yeah... Yeah, you're right, Kyle! We're here to solve problems, and prevent ourselves from causing them."  
  
Kyle nodded, "Exactly."  
  
Herbert growled, "God made my son weak in the heart. He took him away from me at a very young age... It wasn't fair."  
  
Kyle shook his head and sighed, "Most things in life aren't fair. Take my problem for example... I got all pissed off at a show that told a stupid joke that lashed out at Judaism. I took offense, but it was just satire. I messed up my friendship with Stan and a lot of other kids because I couldn't take a joke..." With that, he bowed his head in shame.  
  
Stan sighed. He fully understood why Kyle made the decision that he did. He was just too proud to admit it up until now.  
  
Herbert huffed, "Well, at least you won't have to endure that shame for long-"  
  
"Don't kill him," Stan hissed at Herbert.  
  
Herbert growled, "It is my purpose in life to make sure my child suffers no longer, and if you two won't cooperate..." He suddenly pulled out a projectile weapon as he concluded, "I'll have to do this the hard way..."  
  
Herbert shot at Kyle, and as it turned out the gunfire was a great force of electricity. Kyle dodged it and it nearly hit Bobby. Bobby jumped back, and it missed just in time. As the robots began to chase Kyle, Kyle shot at them with his own laser gun.  
Mark ran into the scene and paused to see what was going on.  
  
"Oh shit," he softly gasped.  
  
Herbert was looking for a good shot at Kyle while Kyle was shooting down the robots. Stan was watching him prepare to fire at his friend, and simply would not allow it.  
  
"Don't you DARE, ASSHOLE!" Stan called out as he charged at the madman.  
  
Stan rammed into Herbert's legs, knocking him down. As this happened, the gun was fired, and it hit the ceiling. A terrible quake in the ground reacted to the electric impulse.  
  
Herbert pushed Stan away and roared viciously, "You idiot! This building is rotting away; one shot through the roof can bring this whole place down!"  
  
Stan remarked, "For a guy who comes off as a genius, you sure know how to pick a stupid place to work."  
  
Enraged, Herbert growled, "That was a very bull-headed remark..." As he finished his reply, he aimed the gun at Stan; "And it was your last."  
  
Kyle saw this from nearby and gasped, "....STAN! LOOKOUT!"  
  
As fast as possible, Kyle ran to stop Herbert from killing his best friend. The gun went off, just as Kyle pushed Stan out of harm's way. Stan was knocked to the ground, and wasn't harmed by the electric laser at all.  
  
To his horrific surprise, Kyle was. He saw his friend in front of him, getting sizzled with high volts of electricity.  
  
Stan gasped, "...Kyle.....NOOOOO!"  
  
The electricity ceased, and for one moment Kyle was still in the air. In the next moment, he was on the ground. He looked dead already.  
  
Stan softly whimpered, "....k..kyle......no....."  
  
Stan rushed over to Kyle and took him in his arms. Kyle's face and clothes were slightly burned. Smoke was rising from his coat. He was shaking, which meant he was alive... for the time being.  
Stan can barely hear Kyle's voice whimpering as his body shook in pain.  
  
"...sshhhh...." Stan whispered to him. "....ssshhh; it's alright....It's okay....you'll be alright....."  
  
Herbert approached him, as if he was ready to snatch Kyle right out of Stan's arms.  
  
Stan roared, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"  
  
Herbert stopped, not because Stan commanded him to, but because the building rustled again.  
  
"Bobby, come!" Herbert commanded, and the two of them ran out of the scene.  
  
Stan screamed with tears in his eyes, "COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD! ....You mother...fucking......coward....."  
  
Kyle's voice was simmering down as he forced himself to breathe.  
  
Stan continued to coax him; "Shhh...Relax. It's okay, dude....It's okay... I'm still here.....I'm gonna stay here....."  
  
Mark sadly walked up to them, prepared for the worst.  
  
Kyle kept trying to breathe, until his soft voice softened more, and got slower......softer....and slower.....softer......slower.....  
  
Silence.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
  
"....kyle.......kyle........." His voice sank into sobs as Stan shook Kyle's lifeless body, hoping it would respond.  
  
It didn't.  
  
Stan was left with no choice but to hug his friend's body and sob out loud, knowing that the fear he had hours ago had finally come to life.  
  
...He's dead....and this time, it's for real....  
  
"...Stan..." Mark replied with his own choked up voice. "....Stan..... I'm so sorry..."  
  
Then it hit Stan. He remembered what Herbert said about fixing his son to be civilized. He knew there was hope for Bobby. He knew...  
  
He has another machine...!  
  
Stan looked up and softly sobbed, "...We can still save him."  
  
"...What?" Mark gasped. "How?"  
  
Stan answered while wiping away the remaining tears, "He's got another machine; one that can bring people back to life... We gotta get to it before it's too late."  
  
"Will it work?"  
  
"It has to work!" Stan exclaimed, lifting up himself and his cradled friend. "Come on! Let's go find it!"  
  
Once Stan collected both Kyle and his gun, they ran out of the room in search of it, in the direction which Herbert and Bobby ran off.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
It was a small room that didn't seem as flashy and bright as the other. The machine was a much smaller one than the first, and it wasn't circular; it had a cylinder shape. And it was slanted, as if something knocked it off its pedestal some time ago. But sure enough, it had the purple liquid that Bobby had in his machine, and there was a monitor nearby that recorded the tank's actions. This had to be the second machine. And it looked ready.  
  
Without a word, Stan found the open button, and watched the door slide open. He quickly placed Kyle in there and hooked him up to the machine. Like the first one, there were cuffs that were meant to be connected to the forehead, wrists and ankles. One by one, Stan placed them on Kyle's head, wrists and ankles.  
  
Mark, meanwhile, was observing the main controls on the table nearby. They had a monitor, just like the other one did. He was trying to get himself familiar with the controls. finally, after minutes of silence, Mark spoke:  
  
"...You know... This makes us no different than that scientist..."  
  
Stan paused to think over this observation and sighed, "...We'll be the last to ever do this...." With that, he closed the door of the machine.  
  
Mark turned it on.  
Bolts of electricity flickered on top of the machine, and the control table flashed lights, indicating its activation. Mark and Stan stepped back and watched Kyle's machine vibrate with electric impulses.  
Stan sighed.  
  
I hope this works...  
  
"......Mark......Keep an eye on Kyle."  
  
Stan started to exit the room.  
  
"...Wait! Where are you going?"  
  
Stan turned back and with a look of vengeance, he replied, "I'm gonna find that sick bastard and make sure he gets his."  
  
Mark at the moment was too caught up in his own personal emotions to try to stop Stan from leaving. So he did as he was told.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
The building was starting to shake a little, which worried the lost children. They all managed to find each other in a hallway, all of them clueless as to where they should go next.  
  
"Well, you guys," Cartman asked, "do we stay here and wait for the others or do we get the hell out of here?"  
  
"Well," Clyde responded, "if we try to escape we MIGHT die... but if we stay here, we WILL die!"  
  
Token nodded, "I'm up for option B!"  
  
They all nodded and ran to the nearest exit.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
It didn't take long for Stan to discover where Herbert and Bobby ran off too. There in the main lab room was a small doorway that led to a room so small and dark it was as if it was meant to be a secret. And in the middle was a medium-sized helicopter. And strapping his son in the passenger seat was the mad man, Herbert.  
  
Stan roared, "you're not getting away so easy, you asshole!"  
  
Bobby recognized the little creature in the blue hat, and snarled viciously. Herbert descended from the helicopter's doorway as Bobby furiously struggled to free himself from the seatbelt.  
  
Herbert approached Stan and glared. "...This place is not stable anymore. We have to get out soon, or we all die."  
  
Stan glared back. "You never should have done this."  
  
"You never should have rebelled."  
  
"DAMN YOU! You're more insane than your son!"  
  
Bobby hissed.  
  
Herbert shook his head and growled, "I don't have time for these stupid arguments."  
  
Herbert turned away and ran to his helicopter. Quickly, he turned on the engine.  
That's when Stan remembered... He reached into his pocket and pulled out the laser Kyle had before he was shot. Stan snatched it before they took Kyle to the new machine.  
He saw the helicopter being turned on. An opening in the back gave way to an escape exit. The helicopter was turning towards the exit.  
Stan looked back at his gun.  
He saw the helicopter lifting in the air.  
He looked back at his gun.  
He saw the enemy making his escape.  
He looked at the gun.  
The enemy.  
The gun.  
The enemy.  
The gun...  
  
Oh, what the hell?  
  
Stan shot at the tail of the helicopter, and it was sent aflame. The helicopter spun out of control, and went into reverse. It was heading right for Stan, who cleverly dodged it. It turned over and hit the wall. It crashed on its side... Herbert's side.   
Bobby jumped out, unscathed. But he noticed that Daddy didn't leave the machine.  
  
"...Daddy?" he whimpered worriedly.  
  
Herbert slowly rose from his seat, and gave Stan the most evil look. He didn't even care he was stuck inside a burning helicopter that was about to explode.  
  
Herbert roared, "All I wanted was to end my pain!"  
  
Stan saluted him and roared back, "Glad to be of assistance!"  
  
BOOM!  
  
As the helicopter blew to bits, Herbert was tossed to the ground, where he would be buried in the debris of what was left of his getaway machine. While Stan was tossed aside by the impact, bobby stood his ground and saw his father get crushed by the machine.  
  
With tears in his eyes, he screamed, "DADDY-Y-Y-Y!"  
  
When the fire burned out, Bobby rushed over to where his father was. He saw his arm stretched out on the floor, but the rest of his body was covered in debris.   
His hand wasn't moving.  
  
"...Daddy?......Daddy?......." Bobby softly whimpered, as he nuzzled Herbert's arm. He was hoping that his nuzzles would revive the arm, but it wasn't working. "....Daddy......"  
  
With his intensified energy, he lifted the large pieces of debris that buried Herbert's head. Herbert's head and chest were free... but bloody and ...lifeless.  
  
Bobby teared up and sobbed, "...da-ddy......"  
  
Stan, rising from his fall, noticed what was happening. Bobby's back was turned on him, so the psycho kid couldn't see him. Stan looked down, feeling ashamed of himself. Why did he shoot him? Why did he let that happen? .....Was it possible that he did that out of instinct? Was he really that hateful?  
  
...Oh shit...What the hell am I still doing here? That psycho freak's gonna KILL ME!  
  
Stan got to his feet and looked for a way out. The escape door that the helicopter was headed for was still open. Now all he had to do was find his friends so they all would escape through there.  
  
Bobby tore himself away from his mourning just in time to hear Stan's footsteps. He knew this creature... this evil one that killed Daddy... was running away. His head rose, with his eyes all the more reddened. That angry look could have just as well been psychotic.  
  
...i have to get this monster.....what's his name? .....ssss .....ssssss ....taaa.....?  
  
Bobby looked to Stan's escape direction, and with painfully angry eyes, he hissed his second word:  
  
"sssssss-taaaaaaaaaaannnnnnn...."  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
I don't know where he is, but I'm gonna find him....and when I do....I'm gonna kill him....  
  
Two seconds after the tragic loss of Daddy, Bobby tore right through the wall and went on a frantic search for the one called Stan. He darted from room to room on all fours, breezing by everything like the wind. But he had a good eye, knowing the difference between metal and living creature in a split second.  
Sooner or later his eyes caught the blurry images of other creatures. They were all scattered and going about their own personal businesses, but Bobby could care less. One of them was Stan. That's all he knew.  
  
Bobby leaped onto the walkway of the second level, spotting Kenny and Cartman. They freaked out, but had no time to run away. Bobby first grabbed Kenny and looked at him very carefully.  
  
This isn't Stan.  
  
Angrily, Bobby tossed Kenny aside.  
  
"AY!" Cartman yelled.  
  
Bobby growled and slashed at the fat one, but he knew very well that this wasn't Stan either.  
  
He leaped back down to level one, and zoomed into a room where three other creatures were. First he grabbed both Tweek and Butters, but they weren't the one he was looking for. He saw Token trying to make a quick escape, but he had to go through Bobby first.   
  
This isn't Stan either!  
  
Frustrated, Bobby whacked Token across the room and resumed his search.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Mark was in a panic, trying to control Kyle's machine while at the same time balancing himself against the rumbles of the crumbling building. Suddenly, Stan ran into the room.  
  
Stan yelled, "Mark! I found a way out! We gotta find the others!"  
  
"But Kyle's still in there!" Mark exclaimed, pointing at the second resurrecting machine.  
  
"Well hurry up! I'll find the others," Stan ordered, and with that he ran off.  
  
Frantically, Mark pushed the right buttons, still hoping he can bring Kyle back to life.  
Just then, he heard an all too familiar roar.  
  
"......nooo....."  
  
Yes.  
Bobby ran into the room, and saw Mark from a distance.  
  
......He didn't kill Daddy.....but he is an enemy.....  
  
Bobby hissed at him, and Mark now had no other choice but to run.  
  
Bobby chased him out of the room, just when a green mitten punched through the resurrection machine.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP MEEE!" Mark cried.  
  
Bobby was in fact five times faster than Mark, but he figured it'd be fun to toy with Mark by giving him a head start. But son the playing was over. Bobby leaped in front of Mark and grabbed him by the neck. He lifted him in the air and prepared to crush Mark's neck in one second, when-  
  
"HEY!" Stan shouted.  
  
Bobby turned his attention to the kid on the second level above.  
  
Stan yelled, "Leave him alone; I'm the one you want!"  
  
Bobby's eyes widened with surprise.  
  
Mark struggled to yell, "ss....Stan....get out...of here...."  
  
Bobby threw Mark away and hissed,  
  
"ssstaaaaannnnn..."  
  
He charged towards the second level walkway, and instead of taking the stairs, he started to scale the wall. Stan tossed down debris of metal and mechanical gears, but Bobby swatted some away and jumped over the rest.   
Stan decided it would be wise to make a run for it, but Bobby got to his level in no time. Bobby grabbed him and threw him off of the other side of the walkway.  
  
Stan crashed down, and lost half of his consciousness.  
Bobby landed perfectly on all fours, unscathed.   
  
Bobby approached his prey, giggling softly and evilly. His eyes burned with delight, thinking he had Stan right where he wanted him.  
And he was right. Stan tried to get up, but wasn't fast enough. Bobby charged at him with all his fury, and he would have killed Stan if that total stranger didn't come out of nowhere and kick him down!  
  
Bobby fell face down to the solid floor, and Stan let out a gasp of shock. There stood before him another kid. He was standing in the dark, and Stan was facing his back. The child couldn't be identified except for that familiar-looking dark green hat.  
  
Bobby got up and faced the new child, surprised that he even showed up. Bobby glared at him with his blazing red eyes.  
Kyle glared right back at him... with his blazing red eyes.  
  
"....k.....kyle.....?" Stan softly asked, hoping he wasn't just seeing things.  
  
Kyle looked back at Stan sternly, showing those same red eyes that Bobby had.  
Terrified, Stan backed up a bit.  
Kyle might have had that evil redness in his irises, but the truth of the matter was, it was the same old Kyle. At this point, only one thing made a difference between Kyle and Bobby. Kyle was civilized.  
  
"Stan, get out of here," Kyle sternly commanded.   
  
"But dude-"  
  
"I said get out of here." Kyle turned back to Bobby and declared, "I'll handle this."  
  
Not in the mood to argue, Stan struggled to make a run for it. Bobby tried to attack him, but was blocked off by Kyle. Bobby backed up, wondering why this creature was blocking Stan. Kyle glared at him furiously, and gave him the signal to "Bring it on."  
  
Accepting the challenge, Bobby started to pace around. Kyle paced around too; the both of them made a pacing circle. One was completely prepared for an attack from the other. Bobby then turned away, making it look like there was something else there. Stubbornly, Kyle looked to see what it was... but it was a syke-out.  
Bobby charged at Kyle the moment his guard was down, and went for his neck. Once he had Kyle pinned down, Bobby punched him in the face several times. Kyle quickly grabbed Bobby's arms, then his feet pressed up against Bobby's chest, and with one mighty force he kicked Bobby off of him. Bobby grabbed a steel banister, ripped it right out of its place, and swung it at Kyle like a bat. Kyle backed away, avoiding the first couple of attacks, but the he lost his footing and fell. Bobby attempted to execute Kyle with the metal bar, but Kyle rolled away in time. He got to his feet, just when Bobby tried to whack him with the bar again. Kyle grabbed it and tried to pull it out of Bobby's hands. He was soon enough successful, proving that he was stronger than he normally was. This was perhaps due to the machine he had just crawled out of, which also explained his red eyes.  
Bobby jumped at Kyle, clutched onto the back of his shoulders and started biting into him from behind. Kyle screamed in pain, but then quickly ran backwards, making Bobby ram into a wall. Injured, Bobby fell to the ground. Kyle moved away so that he could possibly escape, but Bobby darted at him. The two of them tumbled down the long flight of stairs nearby. Hitting rock bottom, Kyle pinned Bobby, but only for a second. Bobby kicked Kyle dead in the face, and Kyle flew across the room. He hit a wall, and remarkably made a dent in it. Bobby charged at him, but Kyle moved away in time. Bobby's punched made an even deeper dent in the wall. Once again, Bobby charged at Kyle.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Elsewhere, Stan was regrouping with the other boys, who were still devastated by Bobby's rampage.  
  
"Guys, there's a way out of here. It's only five rooms down that way," Stan directed. "....Are you guys okay?"  
  
Token rubbed his head and answered sarcastically, "Oh yeah, this is fun.   
Being chased by a maniac; this is exactly how my dad explained the sixties."  
  
"Well, where do we go?" Clyde asked Stan.  
  
"This way," Stan pointed, "it's a secret passageway through the room where we were first at."  
  
"Where's Kyle?" Cartman asked.  
  
Stan and Mark have now realized that the other boys didn't even know that at one point, Kyle was dead. Not even Mark knew where he was, so he looked to Stan for an answer.  
  
Stan bowed his head worriedly and replied, "He'll catch up later..."  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Kyle and Bobby continued their battle on the second floor of the building. Kyle tripped up the psycho kid and wrestled with him until he made Bobby crash into the banister. Kyle tried to push him over the side, but Bobby pushed back, clutching onto Kyle's throat. Bobby got the upper hand, and drove Kyle over the side. Kyle crashed back down to the first floor.  
He got up and awaited Bobby's next move from above. He can hear his hands and feet rattling the walkway that snaked over him. Kyle thought it would be best to just stand there and wait until Bobby jumped down; for then Kyle will see him coming and make the next attack. He waited.....and waited. All he can hear was a tap here and a tap there. But no Bobby. Kyle started to worry.  
He took a step back, and that's when Bobby grabbed his leg... from below.  
  
Kyle gasped, and Bobby tore through the floor. All this time he was finding his way through the walls just so he can take Kyle by surprise. Well, it worked.   
Bobby wrapped his muscular arm around Kyle's neck and choked him from behind, and at the same time he pulled him backwards, towards the new hole in the ground. Bobby tossed Kyle into the hole, but as he did Kyle grabbed his wrist. Kyle pulled at him, but the psycho kid was pulling back.  
A huge rumble in the ground widened the hole and both boys plummeted down, into a never-before-seen level of the building. And with them, huge amounts of debris.  
  
This was the darkest place of all. Yet it was clear to Kyle that they were in an old oil plant, for there in front of them was a giant drill that was itching its way through the ground. The pit it had made must have been at least fifty feet deep; deep enough for one to fall to their death. Kyle stood near the edge of the cliff.  
  
.....I have to get out of here.....but how?.....  
  
Kyle looked at the hole above, and took notice to the ground-level floor that slid down the hole. It could be a ladder, since it had holes in it. Kyle jumped for it, just when he heard a soft rumble nearby. He turned around, and saw Bobby at the edge of the cliff. He was trapped under a huge metal plate; all he could move was his head, neck and right arm. The rest of him was hidden beneath the debris.  
He softly moaned in agony.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Finally! After all this time, we'll get the hell out of here!  
  
Stan led the way towards the room with the helicopter runway. The door was still open, and daylight pierced through. Cartman took notice to the torn-apart helicopter and gasped,  
  
"Damn! This mad scientist prick doesn't even clean up after himself."  
  
"He's dead, Cartman," Stan answered.  
  
The kids looked closely at the dead body under the helicopter and reacted simultaneously.  
  
"Come on," Stan commanded, no longer patient to leave.  
  
"...Well..." Pip said, ".....at least the worst is behind us."  
  
zzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz  
  
Cartman glared angrily at Pip and growled, "...I fuckin' hate you, Frenchy."  
  
The room was suddenly swarmed in robots. Stan took out his laser gun and shouted,  
  
"EVERYBODY RUN!"  
  
The kids scattered around the room while Stan stood and shot at the machines. The others took cover by the helicopter and ducked down. Cartman and Kenny peered back out, knowing Stan was in big trouble. Kenny grabbed a metal bar from the helicopter and charged at one of the robots. He swung at one that wasn't looking, and bashed it's head in. Cartman smiled and took up a piece of the helicopter propeller and yelled,  
  
"VIVA LA RESISTANCE!"  
  
"YEEEAAAAHHH!" the other boys exclaimed, each one taking up another piece of the helicopter. Everyone that is... except for Pip, Mark and Butters.  
  
Butters stuttered, "uuhhh, th-th-there's no way I'm gonna be... f-f-fighting some badass....r-robots..."  
  
Mark nodded, "Our lives are worth more than that."  
  
Pip added, "Yes, quite right gents. It's clear that we're the ones with sense, and that the others have apparently come exposed to too much trauma over the last several hours. They're only acting out of some kind of psychological injury due to all the messed-up events we've experienced."  
  
Mark paused, then shook his head, took up a propeller piece and sighed, "Ah, what the fuck?"  
  
As Mark raced to the fight, Pip gasped, "Oh bloody hell!"  
  
Mark teamed up with Stan and the others, all determined to wipe out the remaining robots.  
Kenny didn't see one robot come from behind, and before he knew it, he was impaled from behind, then tossed into a wall, smashed to bits.  
  
Stan exclaimed, "OH MY GOD; THEY KILLED KENNY!"  
  
Mark glared at the robots and hissed, "You bastards." He then tossed his weapon to the robot and it ran right through its head.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
Kyle looked at his exit, then back at Bobby. Bobby tried to push the debris off of him, but it was too much, even for him. Apparently, the fighting took a lot out of him. He gave in and rested for a moment. Soon enough, he looked to Kyle, who was slowly coming his way.  
Bobby put his head down, admitting defeat. He was completely convinced that this creature was going to kill him.  
Kyle stopped in front of Bobby, knowing how helpless he was. He thought for a moment, deciding whether to kill him... or help him...   
Bobby moaned softly, like a saddened animal.  
  
Kyle let out a sigh, and shook his head.  
  
.....I know he's a savage animal.........but I'm not.  
  
Bobby had his eyes closed, not wanting to know what was going to happen to him. To his surprise, he felt the force of the debris lifting up. He looked, and saw Kyle lifting the debris. It was a very difficult struggle, but Kyle was giving it everything he had. The newfound energy he gained from the machine was helping him greatly, but he can tell it wasn't going to last long. The more he struggled to lift the debris, the weaker he was getting. Still, Kyle was lifting it even higher more and more.  
Bobby was shocked. Just purely shocked. All this time, he thought this creature was out to kill him, but now he's saving him. He just couldn't understand why.  
  
Kyle lifted the debris strongly enough for it to free Bobby's legs. He paused, trembling.  
  
Kyle strained, "....bobby.......go!.......get out of there!"  
  
Bobby crawled out from under the debris just as Kyle told him to. As soon as he was free, Kyle dropped the debris. He fell to his knees and panted.  
  
Bobby fell to his knees and licked the wound that was on his left arm, like a cat. Then he looked to Kyle, to see if he was alright... or to see if he was reconsidering the idea of killing him.  
  
Kyle wiped off the sweat, and looked to Bobby. The redness in his irises were gone forever. He was his old self again. And that worried him, because he knew that although his super-strength was temporary, Bobby's was permanent.  
  
Bobby hopped over to him very carefully and slowly; his feet were injured for him to walk on them. He creeped up to Kyle like a scared dog. He was in fact scared; he wasn't sure what to think of this kid now.  
  
Kyle smiled, "...I'm Kyle."  
  
Bobby tilted his head, confused.  
  
"....K-yyy-lllee," the creature slowly explained.  
  
".....kyle...?" Bobby replied.  
  
Kyle pointed to himself and smiled, "Yeah. Kyle."  
  
Bobby gave a nod; "...Kyle..."  
  
Then, the earth rumbled more greatly than it had ever rumbled before. This quake started to send down the ceiling, and more debris fell from above. Kyle rushed to the "ladder" and climbed upward, to the ground level of the building. As Bobby followed, the earth beneath his feet gave way and widened the almost bottomless pit nearby.  
As Kyle reached ground level of the building, Bobby jumped to the "ladder", but could only reach the very bottom of it. The earth below him was completely gone.  
  
Kyle reached down and screamed, "Give me your hand!"  
  
Bobby paused, in a panic.  
  
"Don't be stupid," Kyle yelled; "Give me your hand! ....Please?....I'll help you!"  
  
Bobby looked closely at Kyle's hand, and finally understood. He reached for Kyle, but he was a few inches away. The ground was still shaking, and it wasn't helping Bobby's grip at all. He continued to reach for Kyle's hand... until he lost his grip.  
Bobby roared in terror, as he plummeted down into the pitch black pit.  
Kyle watched in horror as this poor child- the first human being to make a comeback from death itself- was gone from the world....again.  
He shook his head in sorrow.  
  
But he couldn't grieve for very long; the ceiling was falling on top of him. He scrambled to his feet and made a hectic run for it, towards.....anywhere.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
"WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!" Mark screamed.   
  
The boys all headed for the open exit just as the ceiling was crashing down on top of them. Stan suddenly stopped by the exit and looked back. He just remembered....  
  
"....Kyle......KYLE!" he screamed.  
  
Cartman stopped Stan from running back, yelling, "Are you crazy? We gotta leave!"  
  
"NO! Kyle's still in there!"  
  
"COME ON!" Cartman yelled as he picked Stan right up.  
  
As Cartman carried him out of there, Stan screamed, "KYYYYYLLLLLEEEE!!!"  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
He was almost there. He found the secret passage, which was still open. Kyle darted down the tunnelway, trying to stay balanced against the quake. He got to the other side, but by the time he was there, the open doorway was no longer open. It was blocked off by debris.  
  
He sighed softly, "...And for a second there I thought I was saved."  
  
Then he looked up and saw the ceiling coming right at him.  
  
***~~@~~***  
  
The gray smoke lifted within minutes. The scene was very visible; the oil factory was nothing more than a huge pile of debris. From the giant piles of rusted metal crawled Stan and Cartman. They looked around for their friends.  
  
Stan started to search; ".....Mark? .......Clyde?.........Butters?"  
  
Cartman continued, "Token? Tweek? Craig? ANYBODY?"  
  
"uuuhhhhh....." Mark moaned nearby.  
  
"Mark," Stan gasped. He slid down the hill of debris he stood on and helped Mark to his feet.  
  
"Are you okay?" Stan asked.  
  
Mark brushed off the dirt from his clothes and sighed, "As okay as I'll ever be, I guess."  
  
Elsewhere, Token came out of the debris and looked around.  
  
".....We made it," he smiled. "........Craig? .......Butters?"  
  
Tweek came out and weakly replied, "...I.....need.....coffee.....gaah."  
  
"I'm okay," Butters stated elsewhere.  
  
Near him, Clyde nodded, "I'm okay too."  
  
Pip wobbled towards Cartman and weakly stated, "I'm fine ol' chaps."  
  
Cartman replied, "Shut up, Pip."  
  
"Right-o," Pip nodded.  
  
"Aw God..." Craig groaned as he looked at his filthy clothes. "My mom's gonna kill me."  
  
Token remarked, "Yeah, a psycho kid's got nothing on that lady."  
  
Craig flipped him off.  
  
Stan looked around and sadly wondered, "......anybody seen Kyle?"  
  
All around them, there was nothing but a sad, dark field of rusted metal, mixed with rock and dirt. But Kyle was not in this scene.   
  
Stan sighed sadly.  
  
"......I never admitted it before.....but she was right."  
  
"She?" Cartman asked.  
  
Stan explained, "Wendy. She was right. I was being a selfish asshole all this time...... But I learned something today. I now realize that this whole fight between me and Kyle was petty. I didn't let him be my friend anymore, only because he couldn't take a joke. I should've tried to see it through his eyes. That's what everybody's gotta do. We gotta try to look at something through different perspectives before jumping to conclusions......or some shit like that......" He deeply sighed, "...I wish he were still here......"  
  
The others looked ahead of Stan and gasped.   
  
Stan didn't see what they did and asked, "....What?"  
  
He saw the looks on their faces. They looked surprised and happy at the same time. He then turned around, behind him.   
  
There was Kyle, standing on a hill of rubble. He was smiling down on Stan, teary-eyed. Stan gasped in shock. Kyle approached him slowly, showing that his left leg was injured.  
  
Stan nodded, "....you were there the whole ti-"  
  
"Yep," Kyle nodded.  
  
"You just heard everything I-"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
".....you're gonna give me a hug now, aren't you?"  
  
"You damn right," Kyle smiled, and gave Stan a huge hug right then and there.  
  
Everybody else just looked on and grinned. Pip was so happy, he started to hug Token.  
  
In their embrace, Stan whispered to Kyle, "...Can we go back to being best friends?"  
  
Kyle whispered back with tears flowing down his face; "You've always been my best friend. And you always will be."  
  
Stan hugged Kyle even tighter.  
  
It came clear at that point that the sky was getting filled with helicopters, and coming down the road were cop cars and ambulances. The kids just awaited for these vehicles to stop by and take them home. The trauma was all over.  
  
Finally.  
  
THE END  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
